banned books // Current

Perversion 101: Kids taught 'gay' sex, rape, bestiality

A father of a high-school student is infuriated after he said a teacher provided... more

TravG73
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1 month ago
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0 comments

Locker library of banned books

A post on Yahoo! Questions asks, 'Is it okay to be running an illegal library from my... more

nazbags
added this
6 months ago
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9 comments

Criminal Comics

New pornography laws could make comic books illegal...

tatorsal
added this
10 months ago
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2 comments

"In the Land of Queen Esther," a documentary about the Wasilla Assembly of God

(Via http://tinyurl.com/3o3ppl) "This is the first original, on-the-ground video... more

jennatar
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1 year ago
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0 comments

Factcheck.org: loose with the truth in St. Louis

According to the nonpartisan researchers at Factcheck.org (a NEWSWEEK partner), Biden... more

BuddyP
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1 year ago
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28 comments

Palin vs. Biden

For the first and only time the Vice Presidential Candidates Sarah Palin and Joe Biden... more

VSiskos
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1 year ago
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33 comments

Palin brings her folksy tone to debate

Story Highlights On mortgage crisis, Palin says, "Darn right, it was the predator... more

starr111
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1 year ago
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0 comments

Debate poll says Biden won, Palin beat expectations - CNN.com

Story Highlights 51 percent say Democratic Sen. Joe Biden wins vice presidential... more

starr111
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1 year ago
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1 comment

Even Alaskans Have Issues With the "Maverick" Governor

While Palin has seemingly been successful with her constant self-aggrandizing as a... more

niksparks
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1 year ago
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1 comment

VP Debate: Dispatch from Palin Land

ANP: At St. Louis VP debate, McCain campaign rented out a stadium to re-energize the... more

Vierotchka
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1 year ago
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23 comments

Some facts adrift in veep debate

WASHINGTON - Republican Sarah Palin criticized a version of a Barack Obama health... more

J_Jammer
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1 year ago
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2 comments

Palin might be a better debater than thought?

Sarah Palin might not give a good interview, and John McCain's advisers might not trust her to give a press conference, but in a highly structured debate like the one we are going to see on Thursday night, she has the ability to be dominant.

Because the format allows for very little give-and-take between Palin and Joe Biden, her "values"-oriented debating style stands a good chance of succeeding. The central feature of her debate style is that rather than getting bogged down in facts and specifics, she instead says what she is for and what she is against using terms like "healthier," "stronger," "more prosperous," and "fairer."

Andrew Halcro, who has debated her, explains his experiences debating Palin:

I've debated Governor Palin more than two dozen times. And she's a master, not of facts, figures, or insightful policy recommendations, but at the fine art of the nonanswer, the glittering generality. Against such charms there is little Senator Biden, or anyone, can do.
That sounds like a backhanded compliment, and perhaps it is, but that doesn't change the fact that Palin's debating style works, as you can see for yourself in this video that I edited together.

For the video, I looked at her past debates and randomly grabbed six answers that I thought were pretty good. These weren't cherry-picked answers, they were just the first six answers that I thought she handled effectively. (I only rejected one answer in which I felt she was too defensive about her experience.)

Given the debate's format on Thursday night, I expect Palin will do just fine. I will be quite surprised if she gets caught off guard or has a moose-in-headlights moment.

I don't think she'll display much in the way of specifics, but she will get the values-oriented language right, and that should be good enough at least for a draw, and that will mean she beats expectations.

Of course, the real political issue in the debate isn't whether or not Palin meets or beats expectations, it's whether she is able to make a case for John McCain that John McCain hasn't yet been able to make for himself.

That's something no vice presidential candidate in history has been able to do, and should serve as a reminder that in the end, this election is still between Barack Obama and John McCain.
Sarah Palin might not give a good interview, and John McCain's advisers might not... more